LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



013 744 323 5 




E 629 
.K672 




^*"'^ ^ SANITAKY COMMISSION 



]Vo. 39. 



THIRD REPORT 



CONCERNING THE 



%\ii anb Comfort gikii fcj) tlje Sanifitrg Commission 



SICK SOLDIERS PASSING THROUGH WASHINGTON. 



BY FREDERICK N. KNAPP, 

SPECIAL RELIEF AGENT. 



[second edition.] 



Washington, March 21, 1862. 
To Fred. Law OlxMSted, 

Secretary Sanitary Commission. 

Sir: My last report bore date of October 21, Since that 
time to the present, the work upon our hands has steadily 
increased. More room, more money, more time, more 
medical attendance, have all been demanded. Fewer new 
regiments have arrived of late, but the regiments already in 
the field having become more general]}^ acquainted with onr 
plans for rendering help, are now in the habit of sending 
directl}' to our care sick and discharged men, who come to 
the city from the various regimental hospitals to obtain their 
pay and to start for home. 

During the last two months, quite a number of men have 
been sent to us thus, even from the more distant regiments 






at Poolsville and at Budd's Ferry ,*witli letters from tlieir 
surgeons, or other officers, requesting us to receive them 
and render them such assistance as they might demand. 
These men frequently reach here just at night, and are much 
exhausted, and need, peculiarly, the shelter and the helping 
hand which we give to them. 

A large number of men have also come to us from the 
hospitals at Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Annapolis. These 
hospitals receive by hundreds the convalescents from the 
general hospitals in and around Washington. When these 
convalescents are well enough to join their regiments, or 
else, while partially recovered, they are so far diseased as to 
call for their discharge from the service, they return to 
Washington, all needing more or less care; some of them 
almost entirely helpless. 

At different dates, we have received twenty-five and thirty 
at a time, who come on thus from these hospitals with their 
papers of discharge. They are, of course, men who need 
protection and care; but they have no claim upon any pro- 
vision for such special assistance, excepting that which we 
furnish them. Some of these men, returning with their dis- 
charge papers, have been very weak, and, without the help 
and protection which they received from us, thej' must in- 
evitably have been exposed to much sutfering. 

Another class of men who have claimed our sympathy 
and help has been the returned prisoners from Richmond. 
These returned prisoners have usually been detained in the 
city a week or more before all their necessary pay rolls, 
furloughs, or discharges could be made out. During that 
time, we have taken care of all among them wlio were sick 
or wounded. Thus, from these we have had 75 or 100 men 
at a time. 

5 



3 



i^^-' Again : we have been called upon to receive at the Home 
mnany of those referred to in my last report, as constituting 
■s^^^'a new class, viz: men belonging to regiments ordered to 
move from "Washington to Annapolis or elsewhere on spe- 
cial service. These regiments, after they have struck their 
tents, come to the railroad station, bringing with them many 
men who are too sick to bear, without great risk, the ex- 
posure while waiting, as they almost unavoidably are 
obliged to do, some hours before moving on in the cars. 

These four classes of men, added to those who are fur- 
nished by the newly-arrived regiments, and those who are 
picked up wandering in the streets or found in the guard- 
house, needing help, constitute the list of soldiers who have 
had the shelter of the Home. The following are some of 
the figures taken from our record book : Number of different 
men received from October 21 to present date, (March 21,) 
3,685; number of "night's lodging" furnished, 9,944; num- 
ber who have received medical treatment from the surgeon 
in charge, (Dr. Grymes,) 2,544 ; number of those received 
at the Home afterwards sent to general hospital, 172 ; num- 
ber of men discharged from the service, and on their way 
to their homes, who have been here, 983 ; number of deaths 
in thisiiime at the Home, 2 ; number of garments and blankets 
used and distributed to those who were inmates here, or 
were found at the depot, in need of such supplies, 7,796. 

Amount of money expended since October 21, for direct 
use in this branch of the Commission, $2,480. 

The smallest number of men who have been in the Home 
any night is 11 ; the largest nunber any night, 130. Often, 
for a week at a time, the daily number will be 80. One 
week the daily average was over 100. During the last eight 
weeks, the average number lodged has been each night 71. 



On a given uiglit, tliere were but 17 iu the Home, and the 
following night there were 118. In order to be prepared 
to accommodate comfortably this larger number of invalid 
soldiers, who might at any time come in upon us, it was 
necessary to make additional provision. For this purpose, 
at our request, Government furnished for our use two large^ 
sized portable houses, in addition to one furnished by the 
proprietors themselves, (Skillings & Flint, of Boston, Mass.) 
These houses are admirably suited to the purpose for which 
we use them. They are easily warmed, well lighted, and 
thoroughly ventilated. These three portable houses, stand- 
ing near the building we had previously used, will accom- 
modate, comfortablj^, sixty additional men. 

For the purposes of special relief, a portable house has 
also been placed, at the expense of the Commission, on 17th 
street, near the the oflS.ce of the Paymaster who settles the 
accounts of discharged soldiers. 

It Avas found that, owing to the large number of discharged 
soldiers who daily gathered at this office, it was often 
impossible, with all the diligence used, for part of the men 
to be paid off until late in the day. Meantime, these invalid 
soldiers, being generally men who had just come out of 
hospitals, general or regimental, became exceedingly ex- 
hausted. ISTot unfrequeutly, also, men would arrive at too 
late an hour to have their papers handed iu upon that day, 
and they were thus obliged, without money or friends, to 
lind a place to stay over night. Or, again, some defect in 
their papers rendered it necessary for these men to return to 
their regiment to have the error corrected, and yet it was 
impossible for them to go until the next morning. This ne- 
cessit}^ of finding, at some rate, food and lodging, subjected 
the sick soldiers to the imposition of men who were ready to 



take advantage of their situation. An examination into a 
number of cases revealed tlie fact that repeatedly these sol- 
diers had been thus obliged to pawn their blankets or clothes 
for their lodging, to be redeemed at an exorbitant price the 
next day after they had received their pay. 

In order to guard these men against exposure to such im- 
position, and for the purpose of furnishing a convenient 
resting place for the more feeble, and a table close at hand 
where all who were waiting could obtain food, it was deemed 
advisable to have a suitable house where the Commission 
could render this service. It was important to have this 
place as near as possible to the office of the Paymaster; and 
as no vacant building or part of one could be obtained in 
the vicinity, one of the portable houses was put up at a cost 
of about $200. An unoccupied spot was fortunately found 
for the building on 17th street. 

In this house all that is necessary for comfort is provided ; 
and there are berths where 32 men can be accommodated. 
The man who looks after the place is able to give the sol- 
diers any needed information in regard to their papers and 
their journey home; and he also furnishes to the discharged 
soldiers whatever flannels and blankets are needed for their 
better protection. 

The Paymaster (Major MeClure,) has very cordially co- 
operated with the Commission in this endeavor to relieve 
and help these invalid soldiers. On an average, since this 
house was opened, some 40 or 45 men per day have been in 
for rest and food. The number accommodated here for the 
night averages from 14 to 16; while one night there were 
41 who were sheltered here and fed. There were three days 
last week during which 440 invalid soldiers were fed here. 



6 



The advance of the army sent in an unusual number to be 
discharged as unfit for service. 

During the last three months, frequent calls have been 
made upon us for assistance by soldiers honorably discharged, 
(on account of disability,) but who either have had no money 
or else only partly enough to carry them home. They are 
men who, now that they are discharged, have little or else 
nothing coming to them from the Government, because, 
having drawn clothing at an average cost of say $38 or $40, 
and having been in service but a few months, the allowance 
for clothing, $3 50 per month, covers but a small part of 
what is charged against them, and the balance has to come 
out of what is allowed for "pay due" and "pay for travel- 
ling and subsistence." 

Had these same men not been disabled by sickness, they 
would have been obliged to draw but little more clothing 
during the year, and the year's allowance would become 
$42. 

Their back pay amounts to but little, for they have gen- 
erally received all that is due them up to the first of the 
previous month, and have sent it home or otherwise disposed 
of it. In most instances they have sent it home. 

So they are left adrift. Government has fulfilled its con- 
tract, and cannot furnish them free passes, except in special 
cases, lest it thereby expose itself to fraud, or encourage men 
to neglect making provision for such a contingency. 

But the fact remains. Here are these men, away from 
home, and without means to get there; most of them sick, 
some very sick. If their lack of money has arisen from any 
fault of theirs, it is almost invariably the fault of ignorance. 

The course which I adopt in regard to these men is this : 
I inform myself, by examining their papers of discharge at 



tlio Pay Office, that the men are destitute owing to causes 
not ill their control — that is, that they have not received 
their pay and spent it. Next, that there is no one able to 
furnish them money upon whom they could reasonably call 
for it. Then, no such help being at hand, I take them to 
the cars and buy a ticket for them to their homes, first see- 
ing that they are comfortably provided with clean flannels, 
&c. If a man is very sick, so that he evidently needs sup- 
port and care, I engage some trustworthy person travelling 
to the same point to see him safely returned to his home. 
And where no such fellow traveller is found who is willing 
to take the responsibility, some reliable person in the employ 
of the Commission is sent expressly to deliver the sick man 
to his friends. 

Previously to our helping them, (as I afterwards found,) 
some poor discharged soldiers had been waiting in this 
place many days and weeks trying to collect the means to 
get home. They were men whom we did not happen to get 
hold of when they were discharged. But now, with our 
new " Lodge" near the Paymaster's Office, we are informed 
of the condition of almost all who present their papers 
there. 

The amount of relief which has thus been given by this 
new method of action, I am confident, has been great, and 
the money expended well applied. It is something more 
than bestowing food and clothing, or alleviating pain — it is 
relieving a mental anxiety. Some of the saddest men I 
have seen have been those who, discharged from service, 
sick or broken down, finding themselves far away from 
home, with no visible means of getting there, have stood 
asking what they could do. And some of the most grate- 
ful men I have ever seen have been those same persons, 



8 

when I have said to them, " We will buy tickets for yon ; 
you shall start in this next train." 

During the last few weeks we have had occasion thus to 
render assistance to more than sixty men. Many letters 
have been received from these men after they have reached 
their friends, showing, in their simple words, how much 
larger the kindness was to them than the money it cost in- 
dicated. 

The expense of this branch of our relief, since December 
1, has been about six hundred dollars. (This is included in 
the total above named.) 

The same general plan has been pursued, as heretofore, 
to make sure of finding all who arrived at the Station-house 
needing assistance — men who were not so sick as to give 
them a claim upon the general hospital, or else whose regi- 
ments (but recently in camp) were not yet prepared with 
the shelter and comfort of the regimental hospital. Some 
responsible person is at the Station-house whenever a regi- 
ment arrives, whether it is night or day, who selects and 
takes up to the Home all who need care. 

An arrangement has also been made with some of the 
hospitals for convalescents at Annapolis and Baltimore, by 
which we are informed of the intended arrival here of any 
men who are returning to "Washington to obtain papers of 
discharge. 

The plan has likewise been continued by which the faith- 
ful surgeon in charge of the Home, Dr. Grymes, besides 
his labors at the house, performs the ordinary duty of regi- 
mental surgeon for regiments or parts of regiments who 
come on without a surgeon in charge, so long time as they 
remain near the railroad station. There have been thou- 



9 

sands of men sent on in parts of regiments that have thns 
claimed medical treatment. 

Such is a general statement of the means used for special 
relief during the last few months. 

I will now refer to a few of the details of the work hy 
copying here and there a day's record from the brief jour- 
nal which is kept. 

"Sunday Evening, December 1, 1861. — The 8th ReSfiment of 

New York Cavalry arrived last night, with a large num- 
ber of men sick with the measles ; some very sick. Forty 
were brought up here in the night, and nine more this morn- 
ing. Just at daybreak one of them died ; he was too far 
gone when brought here in the night to allow medical skill 
to be of any avail. His body to-day has been embalmed, to 
be sent to his friends. Ambulances have been obtained, and 
twenty-two of the men most seriously sick have been sent 
to the general hospital. A few days of care and rest will 
be all that the others need. There are seventy-one in the 
Home to night." 

"December 8.— The New York 89th Volunteers arrived 
to-day; seventeen of them were brought here, of whom two 
■were sent to the general hospital. Twenty-one men, who 
have been here the last few daj^s waiting for their regi- 
mental hospital to be finished, were to-day sent to their 
camps. Dr. Grymes has to-day examined and prescribed 
for thirty-three in the Home ; some of them are quite sick, 
but doing well. There are sixty-four here to-night." 

"Sunday, December 15.— There wcrc but thirtj'-fivc here last 
night ; it is comparatively quiet to-day ; all will be glad 
to rest; it has been a busy week; last Sunday there were 
nearly sixty here ; many of the men to-day are writing let- 
ters home. We send from this house, upon an average. 



10 

about thirty-five letters per day to the post office. Two or 
three of the men have gone to the church near by. To-day 
Dr. Grymes has taken an ambulance and been himself with 
Williams out to his regiment, to consult with the surgeon 
there who ma}^ know more about his case ; but it is decided 
best to bring Williams back again ; his disease seems to be 
nothing but homesickness with general debility. He is a 
mere boy, of about eighteen, from a New Jersey regiment ; 
he has been here since December 5. He evidently struggles 
to be manly and brave, but this homesickness has become a 
real disease, which masters him. We have thus frequent 
opportunity here in the Home to make note of what in the 
general excitement is almost unavoidably overlooked, and 
which yet it is worth while to have borne in mind while we 
are seeking to aid and strengthen our soldiers — namely, what 
a vast amount there is in the hearts of these soldiers of per- 
sonal sacrifice, daily struggle to put down anxious feelings 
which might enervate the man, tender thoughts of home 
checked in their utterance, and hope silently waiting. The 
sum and the costliness of all this can never be estimated, 
and will never be recorded; yet, taken in the aggregate in 
the camps of these five hundred thousand men who have 
left their Northern and Western homes, the total is im- 
mense." 

"December 16.— Our Sunday quiet did not continue long, 
for thoogh we had but about thirty in the Home last eve- 
ning, we found seventj^^-three here this morning. The 57th 
regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers arrived at the Station 
in the night. There were none among them very ill, but 
many who needed care at just this time to prevent serious 
sickness. The surgeon of the regiment selected forty-one 
of his men and brought them up to the Home, and himself 



11 



remained, together with the hospital steward, through the 
iiight to take care of them." 

"December 19.— To-day forty-two new men have come 
in, many of them needing medical treatment. Nine are 
from Harris' Light Cavalry, thirty-three are from the 1st 
Vermont Cavalry. In this newly-arrived Vermont regiment 
there was an unusually large number sick, as they had been 
confined to the close cars several days in their long journey 
from N^orthern Vermont ; and, too, there were in this regi- 
ment many who illustrate what we continually observe, viz : 
such an earnest desire on the part of convalescents not to 
be left behind at home, that they insist upon coming on 
with their fellow-soldiers when they are not really in a fit 
state to bear the excessive fatigue and exposure. This 1st 
Vermont Cavalry reached "Washington last night about mid- 
night. Instead of coming in to the Station-house, as is usual, 
and where we were waiting for them to arrive, they were 
left a mile or a mile and a half out, because this was the 
most convenient place for taking the horses from the cars, 
and near to the spot where the cavalry were to encamp, 
north of the Capitol. The sick men were all in a car by 
themselves, which ought to have been run in to the Station- 
house, but owing to some carelessness, it was left where the 
train stopped. 

"This morning, when we went out to see what had be- 
come of the sick, we found them all seated upon their knap- 
sacks or lying upon their blankets on the ground, in the 
midst of baggage and horses. It seems that the passenger 
car in which the sick men were left was needed, and they 
had been turned out a mile from the depot, with no shelter 
or possible provision for their comfort, and no food but what 
they had carried for four days in their haversacks. "We 



12 

found that the surgeon had just gone in to seek some assist- 
ance, but we had not met him. We immediately sent for 
ambulances, and carried all the sick (thirty-three) in to the 
Home, the Colonel himself, with kind care, assisting with 
his own hands each man into the ambulance. One of the 
surgeons of the regiment and the hospital steward are here 
now helping to taking care of the men. There are seventy- 
five inmates to-night." 

"December 25, {Christmas.)— The large room has been cleared 
out, and long tables spread, and a Christmas dinner 
prepared for all who happened to be here to-day. There 
were about sixty seated at the tables, and although some of 
the men were not able to taste what was spread before 
them, they were all able, as the face of each man showed, 
to share in the feeling which passed from one to another as 
they thought of Christmas days at home. And these 
thoughts of home did not make them weaker, but stronger 
for enduring hardships, as was manifest from the calm, earn- 
est manner in which they responded to the few words spoken 
to them, telling them to bear in mind that Christmas day 
had but half its meaning until we had a country where, lit- 
erally, freedom, justice, right laws, and all Christian princi- 
ples were absolute in their control, and inaugurated by the 
will of the people. 

"I cannot but note the example here, in a small way, of 
what may be seen and ought to be felt working, in an im- 
mense way, all through our army, viz : the eifect of bringing 
together into personal contact, men from all the different 
parts of the land, blending their thoughts and interests and 
sympathies in common. Eor instance, as I took pains to 
record, we had to-day at our Christmas dinner men from 
Michigan, Pennsylvania, Maine, Wisconsin, Vermont, Mas- 



13 

sacliu setts, New York, Rhode Island, New Jersey, New 
Hampshire, Indiana, and Maryhmd. To-night there are 
sixty-one men in the Home." 

"Decejiber 28.— Last night there were but thirty-six in 
the house ; to-night there are seventy-eight. The New 
Hampshire 6th regiment arrived to-day, from whom we re- 
ceived thirty men ; a number of them are so sick that they 
will probably have to be sent to the general hospital. Their 
surgeon is here helping to care for them. We have also re- 
ceived to-day 15 men of the 2d New York Artillery. Some 
of the other men who have been discharged and obtained 
their pay, have started for their homes to-day, all comfortably 
provided with warm flannels." 

"January 6.— Although last night there were but twenty 
in tlie house, and a number have since left, to-night there 
are 124 here. Toward evening the New Hampshire 6th 
regiment (which arrived but a few davs ago) came in from 
their camp to the station, en route to Annapolis. They had 
struck their tents and brought all their sick with them, (ex- 
cept three, who were sent to the general hospital.) As the 
cars are not ready to receive these men, they are brought 
here for the night; there are eighty of them, none very 
sick, but all needing care and nursing ; most of them are 
men recovering from measles. 

" To-night, also, we found in the large building with the 
soldiers the wives and children of the Regulars, who have 
just come on from California. We have brought them all 
up here and given them one of the small houses to them- 
selves. They seem very grateful for the kindness. There 
arc fifteen women and twenty-nine little children. Now, 
while this record is made, the three sick men of the New 
Hampshire 6th regiment, who were sent to the general hos- 



1^ 

p'ltal, are broiiglit in. They say that they have been carried 
to three difFerent hospitals, but, through some informality 
in their application for admission, they were not received ; 
and so now they have followed the regiment and are brought 
here. The day has been excessively cold and bleak, and 
they must have sufiered much. 1 am thankful that there is 
shelter and warmth ready for them." 

"Janfart 7.— There are but thirty here to-night, (not 
including the children of the California soldiers.) The wo- 
men and children will remain here a few days, until their 
husbands can make arrangements elsewhere for them. 

" All the New Hampshire men left to-day for Annapolis. 
The hospital steward received a supply of medicines, enough 
to serve for a week or two. He stated that a requisition for 
medicines had been made some days before, but had not yet 
been answered ; and now they are ordered off for the Burn- 
side expedition destitute of a supply. It may reach them 
before they sail." 

"January 9.— There are fifty-one in the house to-night; 
the larger part of them returned prisoners from Richmond ; 
they came in to-day ; none of them very sick, as but few of 
the wounded men came at this time; but many of them 
much worn by their long confinement." 

"January 10.— To-day we have supplied the needs of ail 
the returned prisoners who came on from Richmond yester- 
day. They had not received, with few exceptions, the gar- 
ments sent for their use to Richmond by the United States 
government. Twelve cases of supplies were carried to the 
Soldiers' Rest, and the men answering to their names came 
in order and received each man a blanket, two flannel shirts, 
(under and upper,) a pair of socks, pair of woolen drawers, 
handkerchief, and towel. There were about two hundred 



15 

and seventy men supplied — receiving in all about two thou- 
sand articles. These men were then directed to go by com- 
panies of forty to the place provided for bathing, where they 
washed and then put on their clean clothes. The ladies 
who have placed in our hands these supplies would have felt 
repaid for their labor if they could have seen the real comfort 
which has been given to these returned prisoners to-day." 

"January 18.— This evening one hundred and forty-live 
more returned prisoners arrived in Washington; they were 
all men who were wounded, and had been in the hospitals 
at Eichmond ; many of them were still suffering much from 
their wounds. It was the plan of the officer in charge to 
have some forty or fifty of those who needed most surgical 
care taken at once from the Station-house to the St. Eliza- 
beth Hospital; but they arrived so late, and the night was 
80 dark, and the roads so bad, that it would have been 
almost impossible to have taken them there, even if ambu- 
lances had been in readiness, (as they were 7ioL) Those who 
most needed care were brought up to the Home (about eighty 
of them) and made comfortable." 

'January 19, Sunday Morning.— This forcnOOU was dcVOtcd 

to returned prisoners by Dr. Grymes and the surgeon 
who came up in charge of them, dressing their wounds. 
There were about fifty of them whose wounds required ex- 
tensive dressing, the others less. In accordance with previous 
arrangements, the ambulances came and took to the hospi- 
tal about forty of the men needing most care. This left us 
more room ; so that all the other returned prisoners were 
brought from the Retreat to the Home. To-night we have 
a house full. 

"I make the following extract from the record kept by 
Dr. Grymes. 



16 

" 'A surgeon and assistant surgeon in charge were with 
the returned prisoners, and, as soon as practicable after they 
arrived, those requiring immediate medical and surgical at- 
tention (about seventy-five men) were brought up to the 
Home, where they were carefully attended to and comfort- 
ably bedded— the first time for many of the poor fellows 
since the 20th of July. ******* 
The surgeon in charge was delighted that he had found a 
place where his sick men could be cared for. He stated to 
me that Avhen he arrived at the Retreat, about 8 o'clock in 
the evening, all was confusion ; and he did not know what 
he should do with his sickest men, inasmuch as he saw at a 
glance that they could not stay there without risking their 
lives. 'Ro one officially met him. He had a letter to a sur- 
geon here, but he did not make his appearance, (although 
it was known they were coming on ;) so, with pleasure he 
accepted the offer of the Home. And on Sunday, after 
waiting till 12 o'clock for some one to come and take the 
men, he had to go with them himself to St. Elizabeth 
Hospital.'" 

" Sunday, January 26.— A beautiful day. The hoUSC full. 

Many of the men writing letters to their friends. On my 
way down this morning, I went to look up a poor fellow 
whom I had heard of as being sometimes in the Central 
guard-house, sometimes wandering about the city. I found 
him in a sad state of body and mind. He had apparently 
bad a fever, which had affected his brain, and he had strayed 
off, and was unable to recollect where he belonged or what 
his regiment was. I took him to the Home, had all his 
clothes put in a pile and burnt, gave him fresh garments, 
and he is now resting quietly. When I went up stairs to 
see him this evening, he seemed to have a measure of re- 



17 

turning intelligence — his first exclamation as I entered his 
room was, "I do believe yon are tlie man I've been looking 
for who is going to take me home to mj^ mother." He after- 
ward was able to recall his name and the number of his 
regiment; he is from the State of Michigan. There are 
sixty-eight in the house to-night." 

" January 31.— During the past twelve days we have aver- 
aged about eighty in the house each night. To-day all the 
returned prisoners that had remained till this time started 
for home. Day before yesterday the forty sent to St. Eliza- 
beth Hospital were brought here to be near the cars when 
ready to start. They left here this afternoon. I have been 
throughout impressed with the marvellous patience of these 
men ; their subdued quiet tone ; not arising from a lack of 
spirit or from a lack of patriotic feeling, but arising, as far 
as I could udge after a somewhat careful observation, and 
I think I judged justly, from a settled predetermination to 
accept whatever came to them as one of the conditions of 
engaging in the work which thej^ had taken their oath to 
serve. This is not a careless impression on my part ; but a 
judgment. I am more and more impressed with the real 
thorough tone ot earnestness which somehow has got wrought 
into the hearts of our citizen soldiers. Among these sol- 
diers there will be found, of course, many men who have 
not caught the spirit of the hour — men whom no real pur- 
pose could ever get hold of, and who seem to deny such 
statements as I have just made; but these men ought not, 
by any means, to be taken as exponents of the whole. De- 
terminations, convictions, broader views of the elements and 
the worth of a nation's life; a more intelligent understanding 
of the great question which lies back of this whole struggle, 
and a more thorough interest in human freedom ; all these 



18 

conditions of heart and thought are gradually and even 
largely showing themselves among our soldiers. When men 
reallj- suffer in a cause, they begin to ask themselves seriously 
what the cause is for which they are thus suffering. I make 
this record because, in daily contact with these men, I have 
carefully sought to know the truth upon what seemed to me 
an important point. 

"Before these returned prisoners left us for their homes, 
each one was provided with whatever under garments he 
needed, and, all who desired them, with blankets." 

"February 1.— Yesterday afternoon a company of regu- 
lars arrived from Key West, bringing six women and nine 
children, whom we have placed in one of the small houses. 
Last night, in the night, the 76th New York liegiment 
arrived. Twelve were brought up to the Home, and this 
morning thirteen more; the larger part of them requiring 
medical treatment." 

" February 2, Su7ida7/.—To-da,y, Still thirteen more addi- 
tional of the New York 76th have been sent up here, and a 
nuniber of men returning from Annapolis hospital liave come 
in. There are a great many ill in the house. Dr. Grymes 
has been hard at work most of the day. There are here to- 
night three men, whom I chanced to come across just before 
dark, at the upper part of the city, looking sadly weary — 
in fact, almost utterly exhausted. They were tediously 
toiling their way up to Headquarters for directions. Two 
of these men, as their papers showed, had been in the hos- 
pital sixty days each. This was the lirst day they had come 
out, yet they had been sent up from Sickles' Brigade, which 
is moie than forty miles distant. Leaving early in the 
morning, they had been obliged to hurry off before they 
could secure a breakfast. They had come without any 



19 

definite direction being given to tbem, or a cent of money 
furnished them by which they could ride from the wharf to 
the other part of the city, or by which they could pay for 
food or shelter. One of these men was bent almost double 
with rheumatism, and every step was pain to him. I record 
here this evidence of culpable negligence on the part of 
officers ill not providing what the most common humanity 
would dictate for the comfort of their discharged soldiers, 
both for the fact itself and to contrast it with the kind care 
of a captain of the New Hampshire 2d regiment, who a few 
days ago, after writing to me in advance, detailed one of 
his most reliable men to take charge of a sick soldier of his 
company who was coming to Washington — a distance of 
thirty or forty miles. I put these three soldiers into a car- 
riage and took them to the Home, and I never saw men 
more truly grateful for rest and help. They will have to 
remain some days beforethey can recover from this excessive 
fatigue. To-night there are eighty in the Home." 

"February 5.— Tvventy-five more of the New York 76th 
have come in, needing care; making, in all, who have been 
here from that regiment, seventy. 

"There came here yesterday four discharged soldiers who 
had no money to carry them to their homes — two of them 
very weak and sick. We kept them here last night, and in 
the morning furnished them means to get home. One of 
them had been sick nearly three months, and has not long 
to live. To-day Mr. Kogers has been over the river and 
obtained the discharge papers for three sick men, who were 
too weak to go themselves. There are sixty here to-night." 

" February 12.— Doubleday's Ncw York Artillery arrived 
last night in the night, and there were thirty-one of the men 
brought up here. Only one bad to be sent to the general 



20 

hospital. To-day, I fnrnislied tickets to two more sick 
soldiers, discharged without pay — one to Pittsburg, the 
other to Troy, New York. Ouly forty-five in the house 
this evening." 

" February 21.— Yesterday the 3d United States Cavalry, 
and to-day the 3d New York Artillery, arrived. About 
forty men have come to the Home from these two regiments 
to stay ; and Dr. Grymes has prescribed for some forty more 
of the 3d New York, at the Soldiers' Retreat, who needed 
some care. They had no surgeon with them. This even- 
ing, about 8J o'clock, 350 more returned prisoners arrived; 
we took all who were sick to the Home. Finding that the 
others were not well provided Avith blankets, I had ten cases 
brought down from the storehouse, and each man of the 
350 had, before 10 o'clock, a bed quilt or blanket to sleep 
upon. This was the more important as they will proba- 
bly be obliged to remain in the Soklieis' Rest, where there 
are no beds, for some days while their furloughs are being 
made out, and other arrangements made with reference to 
them." 

"February 24.— Three hundred and fifty more returned 
prisoners arrived ; some of them wounded, a number of them 
very feeble ; four (Massachusetts 15tli regiment) are sick 
with consumption. "We receive all that need care. 

" I hud twelve cases of bed quilts ready in advance at the 
Station-house, and we furnish all the men. There are 
eighty in the Home to-night. 

" Up at the Lodge, in ITtli street, to-day, there were some 
sixty men fed, and forty are there sleeping to-night. Owing 
to a public funeral, the Treasury was not open to-day, so all the 
discharged men who came in for their pay were obliged to 
wait till the next day. There were sixty-five of them ca 



21 

lected at the Paymaster's. All who were not accommodated 
at the Lodge were put into the omnibus or ambulances and 
brought down here." 

"Feuruary 26.— We have to-day made arrangements to 
facilitate the departure home of those Massachusetts men 
who are so very sick ; two have gone on in charge of a 
brother, the others with friends. They had a bed provided 
in a sleeping car. 

" Also, to-day, we sent a man to take charge of a sick 
soldier to New Hampshire ; for, without some one to take 
care of him, the man could not possibly live through the 
journey ; and his anxious desire was to reach home to die." 

"March 3.— We received this morning twenty-eight dis- 
abled soldiers, who came on from Annapolis Hospital, with 
their papers of medical discharge complete, but most of 
them w^ithout their descriptive list and pay roll. Their 
officers are absent on the Burnside expedition. It will be 
some days, probably, before these men can get their papers 
arranged so as to obtain their pay and final discharge. This 
neglect of captains and regimental surgeons to furnish a 
descriptive list and pay roll to each man who is left bcliiud 
in hospital, is a source of sad evil and serious delays to these 
sick men ; it is the result of gross and culpable carelessness. 
I always find, in talking with a body of twenty-five or thirty 
discharged soldiers like these here now, that there is among 
them a real regret at being obliged to leave the service uutil 
they have helped to strike the final blow. 

" The 103d Pennsylvania regiment brought in a number 
of men to-day. There are eighty-two in the Home to-night." 

" March 7.— To-day, most of the twentj^-eight discliarged 
soldiers, who came from Annapolis on the 3d instant, have 
left. The chaplain of the Annapolis Hospital, who came on 



22 

in charge of them, and has rendered efficient service, goes 
with these men as far as Baltimore to care for them and to 
buy there for them the railroad tickets to their various 
homos. This will save the poor fellows much trouhle and 
anxiety. And I will here record the fact, that some of the 
most practical!}^ efficient, as well as earnest workers in the 
army, have been found among the chaplains of regiments 
and hospitals. Notwithstanding, it must be confessed, that 
some of the army chaplains, in being brought to just this 
necessity of dealing with real men every day, have given 
peculiar emphasis to the fact, that a miserably poor thing are 
priestly robes and Sunday services unless joined to a spirit 
and a hand which take hold of the actual work of helping 
men who need assistance. We have sent home four more 
men to-day who had no means whatever at hand. 

" To-day, the 92d iTew York regknent arrived in "Wash- 
ington. We found among them about thirty who were too 
sick to be exposed. We took these up to the Home. It is 
a real refreshment to see with what gladness these sick sol- 
diers, wearied Avith a long journey, accept the invitation to 
go to a house where they can find a bed and some of the at- 
tentions and comforts of a home. To-day, also, the 81ist 
New York regiment arrived, and the 12th United States 
Infantry, filling every spot around the Station-house full of 
armed men, and bringing in to us about twenty-five more 
who need medical treatment and care. Every place is full 
to-night. There are one hundred and thirty in the house, 
sleeping here." 

"Mabcu 8.— This has been a busy day. The 14th United 
States Infantry, the 93d New York Volunteers, the 5th New 
York Cavalry, and the 98th New York Volunteers, all ar- 
rived since last night. From these various regiments about 



23 

sixty men have been brought in to us. Dr. Gr3'mes has ex- 
amined them all, and prescribed for most of them. 

"Fortunately, many of the men who were here yesterday 
went to their canips or regimental hospitals to-day ; still we 
have over a hundred in the house to-night. A few of these 
men are quite sick, but most of them need only a few days 
of rest and medical treatment. 

"I was called early this morning by the police to look 
after some of the returned prisoners, who, it seems, wdien 
paid ott' and furloughed the other day, instead of going 
directly to their homes, had remained behind, and been spend- 
ing their time and money in the drinking saloons. It has 
been our special aim, knowing the temptations here, to see 
that all these returned prisoners, as soon as paid and fur- 
loughed, immediately took passage on the cars ; but among 
so many men, and amid such confusion, some escape us. I 
found these three men in a cheap lodging-house ; one of 
them was already dead, another very sick, and the third suf- 
fering with delirium. The last two were immediately sent 
to the hospital. The body of the other man, after proper 
medical examination and certificate, was respectably buried. 
From papers found in his pocket he was readily identified ; 
and I have to-night w^ritten to his parents, informing them 
of his death. lie had in his possession letters from his pa- 
rents, received l,»y him while in the prison at Richmond. 
They were full of home-like tenderness. Thus he died, by 
this worst of enemies, after he had passed unharmed through 
a battle and through months of imprisonment. One of the 
other two men cannot live many days." 

"March lO.-To-day the 101st New York, and the 107th 
Pennsylvania, and 100th New York regiments reached' 
■Washington. From these three regiments we took about 



24 

forty-seven men to the Home. A number of them will 
have to be sent to the general hospital. There have also 
been brought in to ns some twenty other men from parts of 
regiments that have arrived ; so that to-night again Dr. 
Grj'mes is hard at work, and the house is very full." 

"Maech 11.— Some sixty-five of the 1st Vermont Cav- 
alry came on to-day from Annapolis. They were sick there 
when the regiment moved, and were left behind. "We took 
from these as large a number as we could accommodate, 
(thirty,) selecting those most needing care. To-night there 
are one hundred and ten in the house." 

The record of the past two weeks is a continuation of the 
previous fortnight. A vast number of troops have arrived 
at the Station-house ; and it has been in our power to afford 
" aid and comfort" in a corresponding measure. During 
that time the averao:e number that we have cared for has 
been a hundred and more each day at this house, and forty 
each day at the house on 17th street. It is worthy of note, 
that during the past month, when there has been constantly 
such a house full of men, few of them sick enough to sub- 
ject them to the more severe restraints which fitly connect 
themselves with hospital treatment, there has scarcely been 
an instance of disregard of the rules of gentleness and pro- 
priety. This tells well for our American soldiers, taken 
from the masses of the people. 

With reference to the character of the diseases of the men 
who come under our care, I will simply quote a sentence 
from my last report; inasmuch as further observation con- 
firms the view there given : 

" *I should say that at least three-quarters of the discharged 

* Second Report, page 21. 



25 

men, composing one-third of the whole whom we receive, 
are persons who, according to their own testimony, were 
more or less diseased before they left their homes, and who 
would never have been allowed to enlist except for the cul- 
pable carelessness of the medical officers who inspected these 
same men before their enlistment. I have taken special care 
to inform myself upon this point, so far as I could from the 
opportunity aiForded me of talking with six or eight hun- 
dred discharged men. At one time we had nineteen dis- 
charged men from one regiment, and it was their united 
testimony that "the surgeon who examined them as recruits 
passed them off at the rate of a company of ninety men in 
an hour." The attention of public officials who have this 
matter in charge ought surely to be drawn to these facts. 
By such carelessness private homes suffer, the public service 
suffers, and the good name of the army, as a place w^here 
the health of the soldier is cared for, suffers. It is a wrong 
all around. 

"With reference to other men who come undef our care — 
not discharged, but belonging to newl3^-arrived regiments — 
I should say that one-half of these are men who ought never 
to have been allowed to enlist, while the other half is made 
up chiefly of men who, though ill when the regiment was 
called upon to move, could not bear to be left behind, and 
therefore undertook a journey which was too severe for them. 
But such men usually are ready for service after a few daj-s' 
rest. 

" There are but few persons who come into our hands 
affected with contagious or infectious disorders, or threat- 
ened with protracted sickness of the severer types of dis- 
ease; but when any such arrive, they are immediately placed 



26 

under the better care whicli they receive at the general 
hospitals." 

The same surgeon as when I last reported to you (Dr. 
(jrrymes) remains in charge, with a continuance of the same 
unwearied zeal and faithfulness which had previously made 
his services so acceptable and so valuable. 

Mr. J. B. Clark, who has been the acting superintendent 
at the house the past five months, has been obliged, by other 
duties, to return to his home. lie has labored constantly, 
patiently, and freely. His place is now filled by Mr. A. A. 
Abbott, who gives us his services without charge, and has 
entered diligently upon his labors. 

Mrs. Murrj' continues her services with the samekindlyand 
painstaking care. And I believe that all others, who have 
been connected with the labors of the Home, have given 
something more than time and strength to the work — have 
had a real interest in the soldiers themselves, who have been 
sheltered here. 

I will turn to one point of practical detail. I am glad to 
be able to report that much more liberal provision has been. 
recently secured for the accommodation of regiments at the 
railroad statitm. It is the improvement which we have pre- 
viously urged. A short time since the excessively crowded 
and unwholesome state of these buildings for the reception 
of troops induced us to make a detailed report of the incon- 
veniences and dangers growing out of it, and the absolute 
demand for larger accommodation. This report was trans- 
mitted to the Quartermaster's Department, and General 
Meigs immediately gave orders, without a day's delay, for 
erecting larger buildings. New barracks have been put up 
within the last three weeks, which will accommodate 1,000 
men, and an additional room for serving; rations is now 



'27 

being built; so that instead of 300 men, 800 can be fed'at 
one time. Some days recently there have been 9,000 meals 
to be served to newly-arrived regiments or to those leaving 
by raih'oad, and the embarrassment and confusion caused by 
want of sufficient room was great. This evil is now to be 
obviated. 

I must not close this report, upon the special relief given 
to our soldiers, without referring, briefly as I may, to the 
large amount of aid which has been rendered to those need- 
ing assistance, by Mr. Henry B. Rogers, an Associate Mem- 
ber of the Commission, and my most constant and valued 
coadjutor. He has gratuitously devoted his whole winter to 
the service of such as wanted help. Not a day has passed 
but has brought not one case, but many cases, where his 
judicious advice, or timely direction, or helping hand, has 
saved men from anxiety, exposure, tedious walks, or real 
suffering. Each individual case claimed, perhaps, but a 
half-hour or a half day of thought or time, and seemed not 
much in itself: but even in each individual case the relief to 
a sick man away from his home, and alone, was not small; 
and the aggregate of all the pain saved has been greater 
than any person not cognizant of the variety and the num- 
ber of these calls could estimate. Could these details be 
written out, it would form a record of "aid and comfort" 
given to our soldiers which would call for the gratitude of 
all. Neither the Commission nor the soldiers can soon for- 
oret the faithful labors of this real friend of them both. 

If it were desirable, I could append to this report many 
letters which have been received from men or parents of 
men who have been cared for by the Commission and sent 
to their homes. It was not my purpose to copy any of these 



28 

letters, but as one comes to my liand from the mail just as I 
am writing this report, I will insert it : — 

18th March, 1862. 
Mr. Knapp, of the Sanitary Commission: 

My Dear Sir : You believe, I am sure, that I have forgot 
your kindness for me when I was in Washington, butlhope 
these few following words shall show that such is not the 
case. The reason why I did not write to you before this 
day is a few accidents (though of little importance) have 
postponed my arrival in my family as far as some few days 
ago, and that this is the first occasion for me to thank you 
and make you know how I get along. As to these thanks, 
I wish I could write in English like I can do it in French, 
for I should be so glad to express my gratitude for you in 
the manner in which I do feel it, but this is impossible to 
me, so I beg of you, suppose yourself in the position in 
which I was and be so good as to believe that I feel what 
you should have felt. 

My health is getting a good deal better since I am home, 
and I take advantage of it to continue my studies. My 
father asked me to assure you of his gratitude. 

Once more, I thank you, and hope you shall not forget 
your obliged friend, 

This is one letter which may be taken as an exponent of 
a whole class of those we receive; for though many of them 
are not of equal refinement of thought and style, they all bear 
witness to refinement of feeling, and tell of real gratitude 
and a hearty appreciation of the kind bounty of those "loyal 
women" and men who have placed supplies and money iu 



29 

the hands of the Commission, to be used for our sick and 
wounded soldiers. 

I feel that the demands which are made upon us, and our 
facilities for doing good were never greater than now, pro- 
vided the means are still afforded us for continuing the 
work. 

Respectfully, 

FRED'K N. KNAPP, 
Special Relief Agent of Sanitary Commission. 



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